Travel agencies and tour organisers report enormous rise in the number of solo travellers

Once the domain of the bold or perhaps the lonely, travelling solo is one of the fastest growing segments of global tourism – and women are leading the charge.

Women are leading the charge as solo travel takes off.

The rise of solo travel observed before the Covid-19 pandemic struck has turned into a tsunami of demand as women in particular go it alone in the quest to see the world.

Webjet, Flight Centre, Intrepid Travel and Travello have all reported either double or triple-digit growth in solo bookings in the past year, in a trend fuelled by technology.

So strong was the demand that Flight Centre’s “typical” client was now a 49-year-old woman booking a solo trip, while Intrepid Travel was receiving most of its bookings from predominantly female solo travellers in the 50 to 55-years or older age group.

Travello founder and chief executive Ryan Hanly said users of the social travel app who identified as “travelling solo” grew by 180 per cent in the past year.

Of those solo travellers, 65 per cent were female.

“The rise of social media and travel apps has played a significant role in promoting solo travel,” Mr Hanly said.

“The digital connectivity has empowered individuals to pursue their travel aspirations independently and with more confidence than ever.”

Intrepid Travel managing director Brett Mitchell said the solo travel trend first emerged about seven years ago but had escalated rapidly since borders reopened.

He said technology in the form of smartphones and tablets meant travellers had good information at their fingertips, which in turn made travel more accessible.

“I think there’s also an element of people simply wanting to get going while they still can,” Mr Mitchell said.

“It can be quite hard to co-ordinate trips with friends and family and time’s short. The pandemic certainly made us well aware of that.”

Solo travellers are increasingly filling places on small group tours, such as this one in Venice.

A much broader range of options for solo travellers was another factor and many companies were recognising that “twin share” was not for everyone.

Mr Mitchell said solo travellers on their tours generally had the option of sharing a room with another solo traveller of the same sex, or staying in a single room.

“We’ve found it’s been pretty tricky in Europe just with the huge demand at the moment to try to get enough accommodation,” he said.

“In Iceland and Italy, demand is outstripping supply, and Japan is off the scale. We just don’t have enough rooms to access or leaders to run the trips.”

In response to a 225 per cent jump in bookings from solo travellers last year, Celebrity Cruises added the availability of more single staterooms aboard its ships and introduced new events for singles.

Vice-president for Australia and the Asia Pacific Tim Jones said many of their guests who were going it alone were choosing to travel in style, and 71 per cent were booking staterooms with a balcony.

“I’d say the increase in solo bookings that we’re seeing comes down to the freedom and safety a cruise offers,” Mr Jones said.

“The environment on board a Celebrity cruise is a big perk for people who don’t want to wait around for a travel partner.”

Webjet reported a 78 per cent increase in bookings from solo travellers in the year to March 31, and Flight Centre reported a 12 per cent increase for the first four months of 2023, compared with the same time last year.

Flight Centre global managing director Andrew Stark said the average booking value of a solo trip rose 38 per cent in the same period, as travellers sought premium cabins.

“The top countries solo travellers are booking include the usual culprits of the UK, US, Indonesia and New Zealand, but other regions, particularly in south east Asia such as Thailand and Singapore, are seeing strong numbers,” Mr Stark said.

Intrepid Travel’s top pick for solo travellers was Morocco, with “women only” small group tours proving especially popular.